Insole for shoes



Dec. 19, 1944. J. M. FRIEND ET AL INSOLE FOR SHOES Filed NOV. 24, 1943 Fred ZafZon,

A {n1-Homan Patented Dec. 19, 1944 James M. Friend and Fred Richardson, Columbus, Ohio, assignors to The Walker T. Dickerson Company, Columbus, Ohio, a corporation of Application November 24, 1943, Serial No. 511,506

3 claims.

This invention relates to insoles, particularly those which are used in the construction of welt shoes and formed with a lip or rib for receiving the stitches employed in uniting the upper, the welt and'the insole together. In the manufacture of high grade welt shoes, it is the present practice to employ relatively heavy insole stock `of leather possessing a thickness referred to in the art' as 41/2 to 6 irons. This relatively heavy stock is used in order that there maybe skived or cut from` the insole a marginally disposed integral attaching lip to which the shoe upper and welt strip are stitched. While this construction provides a secure and durable union between the `insole and the adjoining shoe parts, it, nevertheless, necessitates the use of relatively'thick leather in the body of the insole which is relatively stiff, inflexible and costly. Moreover, under present day conditions, such insole stock is dinicult to obtain and decided shortages thereof exist.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an insole in which the body thereiof is formed from leather stock of reduced thickness (2 to 3 irons) and wherein the upperv and welt-attaching rib is formed from an voriginally separate strip or tape of woven fabric, whereby to provide an improved insole of increased ilexibility, amply strong for its functional purposes and less costly to produce than the integral allleather insole of the prior art.

It is another object of the invention to provide a shoe insole having4 an originally separate upper and welt attaching rib joined therewith in which the rib possesses a high degree of physical strength,` the rib being-formed from a tape of duck or other strongly woven fabric and folded upon itself to present a plurality of adjoining layers, the folded tape being lock-stitched centrally and longitudinally thereof to the insole body, and the multiple layer unstitched portionsv of the strip being bent upwardly to extend substantially perpendicularly to the main plane of the insole body, said perpendicularly extending portions being adhesively united to produce a stiffened rib composed ofA several layers of mate-` tion and the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a plan View of a shoe insole formed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view partly in perspective disclosing the tape when initially folded and placed on an insole, but before being stitched to the insole;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view on the line III- III of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical transverse sectional view disclosing the rib construction of the insole on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 5 is a similar view disclosing a modified form of rib;

Fig. 6 is a similar view of a yfurther modified form.

In the drawing, a shoe insole isdesignated by the letter A. Preferably, this insole comprises a body composed of a single layer of leather, although it may be formed from various composition materials, such as those used in the manufacture of low cost shoes. While subject to considerable variation, the stock may possess a thickness of from 2 to 3 irons G15 to 3-3f").

To this insole body, there is secured an originally separate inseam stitch-receiving rib, the

Y. latter being designated generally by the letter R.

This rib, in the preferred form of our invention, is formed from a suitable length of a woven fabric, such as canvas `or duck. In order'to obtain the benefit of the maximum strength of the woof and warp threads of the fabric, the said strip or tape is bias cut. The length of the tape is such as to permit it to extend around the marginal portions of the insole in its shank and fore part regions and terminating at the breast line of the lheel area of the insole. Usually the tape possesses a width of about one inch.

A tape so formed is placed on the top surface of the insole during the process of manufacture of the latter, since when the insole is incorporated in a finally made shoe, the rear part projects downwardly from the insole for engagement with the outsole. The tape initially 'is folded upon itself, as shown in Fig. 2, to form upper and lower layers Ill and Il respectively, the upper layer being thus provided with centrally disposed adjoining edge portions l2. The tape so folded is placed on the upper surface of the insole at the correct marginal positions and is advanced through a sewing machine so that it will be stitched to the insole on opposite sides of the edges I2. In carrying out this stitching operation, we may employ two parallelrows of stitches which pass through the central regions of the tape, or we may employ the so-called crossor zigzag stitching so that the tape on both sides of the edges I2 will be secured to the insole body.

turned upwardly to assume channel formation,Y

and there is applied to the exterior surfaces thereof in any suitable manner a, pressure r'e` sponsive adhesive or cement, whereby to'` effect.

a strong union between the folded andupstand'- ing sides I3 and I4 of the strip, as indicated in Fig. 4. Preferably, the adhesive or cement is of a s emifluid tacky nature so that it may be readily spread over the surface of the tape andimpreg Y nate. the latter toa certainV degree, not necessarily complete. Upon its drying, the adhesive or cementjmpartsa high degree of stiffness or rigidity tothe multiple layer rib R, overcoming. the normal. flexible characteristic-s.. of the. material from which the tape is formed, producing a stiffness comparable tothe leather body ofthe insole. The adhesive or Cement may. be of the type commonly employed in shoe manufacture,

such. asy the customary rubber-containing. ce-

ments, pyroxylin cement, or it may be formed from. differentgums, resins or cellulose derivatives found in the numerous cements supplied under many names to shoe manufacturers.

In connection with'the rib so formed, use is I made of a liner I5. 'I'his liner is.. formed from square cutfduct or canvas and is adhesively secured-tothe upper surface of the insole in aI flat unwrinkled condition thereon. The margins ofthe' liner are cut to conform with the configuration of the rib R with the outer edge, portions of the liner turned upwardly and adhesively joined with the inner vertical surfaces4 of the ribs in order toform, in effect, the inner part of said rib, producing an additional thickness of material inthe construction of the rib and through which the inseaming stitching I6 passes in uniting the shoe upper I'I and the Welt strip I8 with the rib. In the further manufaotureof theshoe, the pocket I9 provided within the margins of the rib R, is

filled with the insulating composition such. as

ground cork, mineral wool or the like and the outsoley 2U. is. stitched tol the welt strip.

It Will be noted` that the rib R, when Iso Constructed, possesses five thicknesses of the Woven fabricwhich provide a Ahigh degree of. mechanical strength in producing aI durable non-yielding union with the associated, welt strip and upper. The rib itself isanchored to the insole through the use of the doublerow of lock stitching.` Such stitchingis employed in. lieu of previously proposedconstructions in which a; separatel rib; is adhesively secured to the' upper surface -of the insole. Further, the stitching is disposed in the center of therib rather than at one or both sides l passes completely through` the. multiple layers ofl the rib R, any surplus material of the ribA pro- J'eeting abovethepoint of` upper attachment .ma-y

be. removedv by a. cutting operation, thereby low.-

ering the` height. ofk the ribruntil. it. is .approximately even with the plane ofthe welt strip.

While the construction described is thatwhich we now prefer to employ, because of the high strength of the rib and its secure attachment to the insole, yet the construction is subject to variation or modification, particularly when somewhat lower manufacturing costs may be found desirable.

Thus, in Fig. 5, therib Rl is formed from a suitable length of tape folded centrally upon tself to provide a pair of upstanding layers 2 I. At the bottom of the rib and between said layers, there is disposed a reenforcing cord 22 and, preferably; by cross or: zigzag stitching 23, which passes over* the cord 22 and completely through the rib'v RF and` the insole, the.tape is secured in a rm and positive manner to the margins of the.` insole. The upstanding layers 2| are then cemented together to impart a stiff rigid condition thereto. Further, the layers 2| are reenforcedby the upstanding margins of the lining; I5. This construction provides a rib for the reception of the inseam stitching which. contains three layers. ofv material, rather than. flve layersI as providedin the. preferred form.

In Fig. 6`, another variation. has been disclosed wherein the reenforcing cord 22 has been omitted and the rib stitcheddirectly tothe insole through a .single thickness of material.A

Insoles, made in accordance with this invention, can be produced from thin stock, much thinner than' that required for insoles in which the. rib. is formed by skiving or channeling.l the rib from. the insole body. The multiple layers from which the rib is formed in our improved construction provides all requisite strength needed in an insole. rib for' securely attaching., the shoe upper andv the welt strip to the rib.` When theA liner I5 isv employed'. additional strength is secured and an eXtra layer' of, material isI` pro'- vided in the cross sectionalf'ormation of the. rib. Another advantage resides in the fact that our improvedA rib` construction may be produced with standardsewing machines used in the'shoe manufacturing industry and' no additional or special f equipment is needed.

f insole rib extendingl around the marginal portion of saidV body, said rib-being' formed from a length of.- fabric tape nitiallyfolded upon itself to-produce upper andy lower layers, stitching, passingl throughthe' two layers of the tape and the insole' body, the stitching being disposed adja- Centf to the adjoining edges ofir the upper layer of the tape, and' adhesive means applied to the unstitched portions of' the tape to unite' said portions in upstanding and stiff'ened rib-formingorderr.

2'. An insole comprisingl a shaped nsolebod'y, an orginally separate inseamin'g rib secured to and. extending around' the marginal portions of said body, said rib being formed' from a length of fabric tape initially folded upon itself to pro'- vide upper and lower layers, lock stitching passingl completely: throughv the two layers of tape and said insole and uniting the tape centrally and. longitudinally thereof toy the insole body, theunstitched portionsv of said` taper being turned upwardly substantially perpendicularly to' the plane of the-insole body and, united. in adjoining relationshipvby the. application. thereto of a stiffeningr adhesive. y

3. An insole comprising a shaped insole body,

an originally separate inseaining rib secured to and extending around the marginal portions of said body, said rib being formed from a length wardly substantially perpendicularly to the plane 10 of the insole body and united in adjoining i'elationship by the application thereto of a stiifening adhesive, and a fabric lining adhesively united with the upper surface of the insole Within the confines of said rib, the marginal edges of said lining being turned upwardly for adhesive union with the inner side surfaces of said rib.

JAMES M. FRIEND. FRQED RICHARDSON. 

